50 Years Flashback: 1995: Dever’s Prediction

The Death of a Discipline

In “The Death of a Discipline,” esteemed archaeologist William G. Dever raised alarms about the future of American biblical archaeology. He cautioned that closures of university departments, the end of major dig projects, and the rise of Israeli archaeology could soon make the discipline irrelevant. Thirty years on, the field remains strong, although many of the same existential threats remain.